It started with one tweet.
“If you miss your kid while you’re at work so much, you probably should give up your job,” it said.
The tweet was directed to Susan Keogh, a radio personality in Ireland.
“I blocked him right away,” she said.
After she received that tweet, Susan couldn’t sleep. The words that the man tweeted rung into his head. And so she decided to write an open letter to that man.
“Dear Brave Man,” it begins. “I like my job. It’s really important to me. Not saving lives important, I get that, but it’s important to me. I enjoy it. It makes me happy & content. And as a result a better mom.”
READ: 12 confessions of a working mom
Coming to moms’ defense, Keogh says that the criticism moms receive, starting at pregnancy, is sometimes overwhelming.
“It’s difficult because you always second-guess yourself as a mom and you’re hoping the decisions you make now won’t have ill effect down the line but nobody has a crystal ball and all you can do is do your best,” she told reporters. “If I was a stay-at-home mom, I’d have the same fears.”
Keogh highlighted the importance of her daughter seeing her working. She wanted her daughter to see her as a fully functioning person.
“She’s the heart and soul of me, but I have other things to do. I don’t work so she has some brilliant career. I just want her to do whatever makes her happy down the line.”
READ: How to work and still be a good mum
She also exposes the double standard most women, especially mothers, face, saying that her husband does not get the same critiques she was getting.
“I’m not some sort of spokesperson for women who work outside of the home. I just hope women who are mothers, whether they found it’s best for them to stay at home or go out and work, do whatever they feel it’s best to do,” she said. “What annoyed me is that guy judged me and I really don’t want to judge anyone.”
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